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Why Have a Christian Funeral? │ by Deacon Marc

Why Have a Christian Funeral?

Unfortunately, in the world today too many of our children and grandchildren have left the Catholic faith.   The pressures of this modern world on our young people are enormous.  It is important for all to regularly pray and ask for St. Monica’s intercession to help bring these family members back to the Church.   We have a great opportunity at funerals to help family members who have left the Church, come back to the Church when they experience the beauty in the Order of Christian Funerals.  At the same time, I all too often have conversations with individuals who have lost a parent that do not want to have a Catholic Mass for their mother or father.   At times, they do not want any part of the Order of Christian Funerals.  Often they tell me that they are no longer Catholic and don’t feel like they need the Mass or other services.  It is at that point I need to remind them of the reasons we have funerals.  I need to further remind them that the funeral is not just for the living, but for the loved one who passed away.

While there are many reasons we have funerals, there are four primary reasons the Church has funerals.  First, we have funerals to praise God.   In this time of need, we come back to the Creator and praise Him for creating us and our loved one with love.  Secondly, we thank God for His mercy and love.  It is His mercy and love that gives us hope in ever lasting life.  At the funeral, we are reminded of God’s mercy and love by giving thanks for this love and the life of our deceased loved one.  Third, we pray for our deceased loved ones’ soul.  Christ is very clear in the Gospels that not everyone will go to Heaven.  As a Church, we believe that our prayers assist people on their purification in purgatory, and their journey to the Heavenly Father.  A significant reason we have a Mass and the other stages of the Order of Christian Funerals is both for the graces the deceased receives and the opportunity to pray for the loved one who passed away.  Finally, we have funerals to fill the void of loss with faith.  When we lose an someone we love, there is a void in our life.  Too often we try to fill that void in unhealthy and potentially harmful ways.  The funeral allows us to come together as a community and  fill that void with the love of God.

While there are many other reasons we have funerals, this is why it is important to have a Catholic Funeral.  While many experience the disappointment and pain of their children leaving the faith, it is important for us to make it clear to our children, family, and friends, that we want a Catholic funeral for the graces and gifts it provides to ourselves and those attending our funeral.  One way to do this is to pre-plan your funeral arrangements in advance.  Your parish and the Archdiocese of Denver Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services can help you in planning the various aspects of your funeral and cemetery services.  This is a beautiful gift you can give your family to help them fill the void of loss with faith.

Deacon Marc Nestorick
Outreach Manager
Catholic Funeral & Cemetery Services of Colorado

For more information, visit our website: https://cfcscolorado.org/services/funeral/

The Order of Christian Funerals │ by Deacon Marc

The Order of Christian Funerals

Denver CO Funeral Home And Cremations

When I was 14, one of my closest friends passed away.  I was confused.  I was angry.  I didn’t know what to expect.  Thankfully, I had my parents to walk me through and support me through the journey.  I can remember vividly walking into the funeral home as a 14 year old boy.  I showed no emotion.  My mind was swirling.  I was thankful to see my friend one last time.   I did begin to find some joy when we were led in prayer by a priest which was followed by sharing stories.  I spoke about the times we went camping and the mentoring he provided me as a young scout.  The following day, we then went to the Catholic Church were we celebrated the Mass.  I can remember my friend being wheeled in his casket down the long aisle.  Within the Mass, my feelings all came to a head and this 14 year old strong boy started to cry, really cry.  I finally allowed myself to surrender in the presence of God to all the emotions I was feeling.  As he was carried out of the Church, I can clearly remember singing the hymn “On Eagles Wings” and asking God to help strengthen me.  We left the church and began the procession to the cemetery.  At the cemetery, the crying continued but I received comfort when the priest explained we were going to trust my friend to God.   The parents wanted to witness his final placement privately.  Therefore, after we finished the prayers, everyone started to leave.  I was one of the last.  I walked up and tapped on his casket twice asking God to care for my friend and to strengthen me.   It was not long after that final goodbye that the tears dried up.  I went to the reception where we continued to share memories of my friend.

Unbeknownst to me, at that time, I experienced the beauty of the Order of Christian Funerals and its three parts.  The church has the tradition of walking individuals through three distinct parts:  the Vigil, the Funeral Liturgy (typically a Funeral Mass), and the Committal.   These parts represent a journey from the home, to the church, and then to the cemetery.  These parts all include time for prayer and to varying degrees time to remember the individual who passed away.  Each of these traditions is designed to help individuals spiritually and psychologically move through the experience of losing someone and transitioning to a new way of life without that person.  The practices of the Order of Christian Funerals are built on many years of tradition, scripture, and Church teachings.   Hence, there is great wisdom and beauty in this practice.

While there is great beauty and wisdom in the Order of Christian Funerals, our world today does not always embrace this tradition.  As a society today, we often want things done quickly.  All too often I see families combining the three parts so that they take place back, to back, to back.  In other cases, individuals will skip one or more parts.  In doing so, individuals are often not only robbing themselves of opportunities to grow through this process both spiritually and psychologically, but in many cases they are foregoing graces for themselves and the deceased.  I am so thankful I was able to experience the Order of Christian Funerals when my friend passed away.  I was able to say goodbye to my friend, grow in love for God, and embrace a faith-filled community.   It was truly an experience of filling the void of loss with faith.

Deacon Marc Nestorick
Outreach Manager
Catholic Funeral & Cemetery Services of Colorado

For more information, visit our website: https://cfcscolorado.org/services/funeral/

Planning Your Funeral Needs – the Mortuary / Funeral Home │ Funeral Facts with Deacon Marc

https://youtu.be/AxO-w3NgK2o

Below is a transcript the the video:

Hello and welcome to this edition of Funeral Facts with Deacon Mark.

We've been going through a journey in the last couple of videos of looking at what is the importance of pre-planning. Our last video, we talked about pre-planning for the cemetery.

Today, we're going to look at the other side of it, pre planning for your funeral home and so, give you a little bit of overview of what a funeral home is, some of the decisions you have to make and then, talk a little bit about the importance of a general price list.

So, funeral home is the one the entity that will care for your body. Everybody is going to need a funeral home. And so they're the ones that take your body in. They care for you. They make they make the final disposition arrangements and then they also are the ones that coordinate services.

It's almost like a wedding planner and also a care for the body of bringing those two pieces together.

The funeral home is a very important decision for you to make. When you're thinking about decisions that you are going to have to make around the funeral home.

There's a wide variety of them.

So, the last time I talked about the importance of having a real estate agent when you buy a house, it really is important to have someone help walk through those decisions for you and with you to help you guide you in them but at the same point in time, let me give you a couple different areas that you can look at and be thinking about in and around funeral planning.

The first is, what is your final disposition? Do you want a traditional burial or do you want a cremation?

That decision is really crucial 'cuz then, it guides all the other decisions that you're going to have to be 'cuz if you choose cremation, then, you have to decide, do you want to the services before or after cremation as the church recommends and prefers.

The services should be before cremation and then, that also leads to the question of if you're going to be cremated and you're going to have be at present service, what kind of casket are you going to use? A rental casket?

So, that disposition question has a lot of impact on other areas.

Another thing to think about is what services do you want and we've done other videos that talked about the Catholic services, the right Christian funerals and the three stages of the right of Christian funerals and so we can refer to that but the funeral home and especially a Catholic Funeral Home can help guide you through planning those services in alignment with the rights that the Catholic Church has.

Another thing to think about is what kind of care do you want for your body?

There's some people feel very adamantly that they don't want a viewing and other people who say I do want a viewing and then there's implications for that is do you want then if you're going to have a viewing is it going to be an open casket and if you have an open casket you have to have embalming.

Do you want makeup? the hairstyle? all those different things how do you want your body cared for one of the final things to think about is then notifications and tributes, do you want an obituary? do you want it in a newspaper? which really is expensive at this point or do you want it on the funeral home website? What kind of tributes do you want? Do you want a video made with pictures of you and different pieces like that and so those are all some of the different decisions that you have to make but it really all starts with that final disposition.

The other thing to be aware of with regards to funeral homes is by law, all funeral homes are required to have a general price list and are required to provide you that general price list so that all the cost are known upfront so that there's no surprises and you should be able to ask any funeral home to give you that their general price list and they should be able to provide it to you at any time and so if you like a general price list for ours, you're welcome to give us a contact here at Catholic Funeral Cemetery Services and we'll be happy to provide you one of those as well.

Hopefully this is helpful in helping you to understand not only the importance of pre planning but also what goes some of the components that go into pre planning with the funeral home.

Let's make it a great week, great day.

God bless and this is Funeral Facts with Deacon Mark.

For more information, visit our website: https://cfcscolorado.org/services/funeral/

 

Benefits of Preplanning Your Funeral and Cemetery Needs │ Funeral Facts with Deacon Marc

Below is a transcript the the video:

Hello this is Deacon Marc with funeral facts with Deacon Marc in the last video we talked about an introduction to pre planning and the three different pieces that are involved in pre planning; The Funeral Home, The Cemetery and The Church.

This week we’re going to take it in a little bit of different approach and talk about what are the benefits of pre planning and then we’ll go into each of those three parts in a little bit more detail in a future video.

But let’s talk about the benefits of pre planning and there are several.

The first one I want to talk about is you guarantee that your wishes are granted.

By doing the pre planning no one has to think about what you would have wanted or anything like that. Your wishes and desires are made clear in that plan and especially today where so many families are experiencing children that are leaving the church it’s really important especially if you want a church funeral, to have those plans clearly outlined so that you have that mass, that service that you want.

So one, your wishes are met.

Two is that it relieves stress. Now it’s not your stress that I’m talking about as my wife would tell me your dead you have no stress. OK, what we’re talking about is stress for your family.

Imagine at your passing they’re trying to figure everything out they’re grieving and now they have to deal with planning a funeral. By having them pre plans in place it really diminishes the stress in the family where they can really focus on their grieving and praying for you.

So, it makes your wishes clear, it relieves the stress of your family there’s, also financial savings to it. When I first got here at the cemetery we laid to rest a gentleman and did his pre planning in 1985 and yet he was buried in 2021 so he paid 1985 prices for 2021 funeral let me just put that in perspective.

In 1985 I can remember going getting a candy bar for $0.35 getting my favorite Snickers bar. Now you go anywhere you’re talking $2.00, $2.25, $2.50.

So, there’s that savings overtime especially the earlier you do your pre planning the more you’re going to save within it.

And then the final piece and maybe the most important is it helps you have the sense of accomplishment but it also spiritually it helps you realize that our life today is not the end but it’s the beginning.

We were created to be with the heavenly father and it helps us put this light into perspective.

There’s many benefits to pre planning and I would encourage you to pre planning if you want more information about preplanning please give us a call here at Catholic Funeral Cemetery Services (CFCS) of Colorado.

But whatever you do, begin; become prepared because it does make a difference and that is Funeral Facts with Deacon Marc

Make it a great day!

For more information about preplanning your funeral and cemetery needs, please visit our website: https://cfcscolorado.org/pre-planning/

For a FREE funeral and cemetery planning guide, visit: https://cfcscolorado.org/funeral-and-cemetery-planning-guide-request/

 

Comforting the Sorrowful, a Spiritual Act of Mercy

Hugging Thornton CO Funeral Home And Cremations

Pope Francis appealed for a “culture of care” in his message for the 2021 World Day of Peace released on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. The Church’s Spiritual and Corporal Acts of Mercy can help guide us towards this “culture of care”.

Comforting the sorrowful, especially those dealing with grief, is one of the Spiritual Acts of Mercy.

Comforting the Sorrowful

Be open to listening and comforting those who are dealing with grief. Even if we aren’t sure of the right words to say, our presence can make a big difference.

• Lend a listening ear to those going through a tough time.
• Make a home cooked meal for a friend who is facing a difficult time.
• Write a letter or send a card to someone who is suffering.
• A few moments of your day may make a lifetime of difference to someone who is going through a difficult time.

Source: https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/jubilee-of-mercy/the-spiritual-works-of-mercy

 

Catholic Funeral & Cemetery Services of Colorado
A Ministry of the Archdiocese of Denver

Funeral | Cremation | Cemetery |

Stations of a Catholic Funeral – Part 1: What is involved? – Funeral Facts with Deacon Marc

 Below is a transcript the the video:

Hello and welcome to funeral facts with Deacon Marc. This will be a section of a weekly blog where we talk about funeral facts from a Catholic perspective, something none of us really want to talk about but it’s important for all of us to understand because we all have to deal with it at one point or another with family, loved ones, and eventually with ourselves.

So, let us begin today. We’re talking about why do we have funerals and what is the order of Christian funerals?

The Church has had funerals since day one we can see that with Lazarus with Christ when he raised him from the dead and we throughout church history funerals have played an important role within the Catholic faith.  So, why do we have them?

I’ve asked this question to people and one of the most interesting responses I get was well we need do something with the body.

Well, yes we need do something with the body but we want do that respectfully and there are reasons why we have funerals, and really there are four primary reasons why we have funerals. We can have all these other reasons but there are four primary ones.

One, we want to worship God. We want to come together and worship Him for He gave us our lives, and He gave us that opportunity to be with that person and so we’re thanking Him and worship Him.

We’re also thanking God and remembering about His mercy that He has for us, His ultimate mercy. None of us deserve that mercy but He is merciful, loving, and we trust in His mercy and so we thank Him for that mercy.

The third reason is to fill that void of loss that we have with that person who’s no longer with us and so we come together as a community we pray with each other, we grieve with each other, and we’re filling that void with Christ and God at our center of our lives.

And then the fourth reason is probably maybe the most important reason is; we’re praying for that person on their journey. Christ told us that not everybody goes to heaven he says that the gate is narrow and the road is thin and not everybody is going to get through that and so we want to pray for that person on their journey on their journey to the heavenly Father.

Four reasons why we have Catholic funerals:

1) Worship God
2) Thank God for His mercy
3) Fill the void of loss with faith
4) Pray for the deceased

So then what does a funeral look like?

You know I can remember growing up when we had funerals it would seem like they would go on for an entire week and things have changed over the years but the one piece that has remained the same is there really are three stations to the order of Christian funerals.

First, we have the vigil, this is when the community comes together and they start remembering the person, they also start praying to God and coming together and filling that time with the love of God you know in a prayerful type of way.

The second piece is the funeral liturgy, typically this is the mass that can be a funeral liturgy outside of the mass but this is when we go to the source and summit the Eucharist and we pray for that person and we have that mass in honor and intention for that individual.

And then, finally we have the committal, and this is typically out of the grave site where we say the final prayers and we commend that individual to God and to their last lasting resting place.

And so there are those three stages and it’s interesting when you look at those three stages it really goes from the home, to the church, to the cemetery, and it’s like a procession of taking that person on a journey and we go on that journey with them. So, we’re going from the home of the vigil to the to the church with the mass and finally to the cemetery with the committal.

So, three stations we’ll be talking about those more in depth over the next couple weeks but that does for today’s issue of funeral facts with Deacon Marc.

We hope they have a blessed week!

 

Catholic Funeral & Cemetery Services of Colorado
A Ministry of the Archdiocese of Denver

Funeral | Cremation | Cemetery |

funeral homes in Denver, CO
Funeral Flowers vs Sympathy Flowers: What You Need to Know

Flowers have played an important role in funerals for hundreds of years. They are looked upon as a way to honor the deceased, represent the fragile nature of life, and bring comfort to those left behind. Today you can find flowers being used in funerals in the way of sprays and other arrangements, referred to as funeral flowers, as well as smaller arrangements referred to as sympathy flowers being sent to the family in mourning. Directors of funeral homes in Denver, CO. share more about what you need to know about these two types of arrangements.

Funeral Flowers

As mentioned, funeral flowers are used as part of the funeral. They can also be used in other services such as wakes, viewings, and visitations. Most all funeral flower arrangements will be sent by family or very close family friends. Because these arrangements are used in the funeral they are delivered to the funeral home or church rather than an individual family member’s home.

Most often funeral flowers will be in arrangements that include:

  • Standing sprays
  • Baskets
  • Wreaths
  • Casket Mounds
  • Shapes such as hearts and crosses

Sympathy Flowers

While funeral flowers are a visual tribute to the deceased, sympathy flowers are meant to offer support and express sympathy for the grieving family. These arrangements are typically smaller and are delivered straight to the family member’s home.

Funeral flowers are typically only sent by family or very close family friends, but sympathy flowers can be sent by friends, extended family, and even acquaintances. Anyone who wishes to send their condolences can do so with sympathy flowers.

You can find premade arrangements through online retailers and florists. You can also visit a local florist or retailer and have them create a special one-of-a-kind arrangement to send.

Best Types of Flowers

No matter what type of arrangement you are sending, there are some types of flowers that are more appropriate than others for this circumstance. Some of the most popular and common flowers and their meanings are:

  • Lilies– represent rebirth
  • Orchids– express hope, peace, and courage
  • Tulips– signify peace, love, and hope
  • Daises– represent hope and peace
  • Snapdragons– excess grace and strength
  • Iris– show faith, courage, admiration, and wisdom
  • Gladiolus– express integrity and strength
  • Lavender– represents devotion, grace, and purity

Things to Considerfuneral homes in Denver, CO

When sending funeral flowers, you will want to make sure you send them directly to the church or funeral home. Make sure to include the name of the deceased or the family on the card so that the location will know which funeral they are for.

Also, because these flowers are being used in the funeral, you will need to make sure you send them in a timely manner so they will arrive in time.

With sympathy flowers, you have more flexibility when it comes to sending them. You can feel free to send these flowers anywhere from right after the passing to a few weeks afterward. Don’t hesitate to send an arrangement because you think too much time has passed as the delivery of flowers is always a welcomed gift that brightens anyone’s day.

If you would like more information on flowers for funeral homes in Denver, CO, give us a call as we are always here to help answer any questions you may have.

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